Pool Party in Evansville

In August we took a road trip down to the southwestern corner of Indiana to visit the Inzerello clan in Evansville.

The drive itself was not ideal, with Macy getting sick all over herself & her car seat about an hour-and-a-half in, but we figured we were halfway there & were headed to the house of a doctor, so we stayed the course.  The clean-up along the side of the road & the remaining miles with a sick child in a disgusting car seat with just a blanket for a barrier between her and what the wipes couldn't get was something we have since tried to block from our memories, but we made it!

The next day, Macy was feeling much better & we had a great time hanging out with family and enjoying the pool.

Macy and Uncle Tony formed a special bond on this trip.  Maybe it was his resemblance to her Papa or his magnetic personality that made her an instant fan, but Macy couldn't get enough of him.

Thank you, Anthony & Jen, for being such great hosts!

Park City Reunion

All packed and ready to travel west for some time with family.  

Mia was particularly concerned with the safety features on our flight.

This is what vacation should look like...

Lounging in bed,

Pool time,

Outdoor concert in the mountains,

Dancing with cousins,

Feeling the groove.

Mia loved hanging out with cousins we don't get to see as often as we would like.

Time with grandparents is always a highlight.

On one of the nights we were able to get together with all of the extended family in the area. 

It was so fun to hang out like old times at Aunt Nancy's.

Mia bonding with Uncle Eric

Grandma Sue

Sydney, Ali, & McKenna having some girl time.

Amy & Grandpa Wally

The best of the 1,941 family pictures we attempted to take.  Unfortunately, we were missing Mike & Mary, but we will be happy to take a majority showing in a non-official reunion year.

Sadly, this was the best shot of our family.

Note the spit-up that just dribbled down Nick's wrist moments before.

Mia & Charlotte

Foot race with Uncle Brian

Grandma Sue & Grandpa Wally with uncooperative grandkids.

On one of the days we went up to the Olympic park to enjoy the Alpine Slide & Zipline.  While we were there, they were practicing the ski jumps into the pool & we got to watch for a while.

Mia thought that was just about the coolest way to go swimming.

The view from the top of the track.

Mia wasn't officially old enough, but we abode by the don't ask, don't tell policy & took her anyway.

She loved it!

One of the other highlights of the trip was spending some time boating.

Mia enjoyed her first time behind a boat & Grandpa Wally was the most appropriate person to show her the ropes on her first ride.

She loved the view from the boat as well.

McKenna & Syd, ready to roll.

Ali, Tyler, & Lizzy getting crazy!

Drying off & getting ready for a wardrobe change.

Ahh... the things you can get away with when you are two.

McKenna & Mia, winding down at the end of a fun day.

Another day we took at side trip to Provo, where I introduced Nick, Mia & Macy to BYU.

Our first stop was the Creamery.

I won't post video of the family talent show, but we had one.  

And it was memorable.

The best act goes to Grandma Sue & Grandpa Wally, who danced a duet in sumo ballerina costumes.

The rest of our time in Park City was spent relaxing & trying to forget what we witnessed during the talent show.

A good time was had by all.

Austrian Adventure

In July, Nick had a 3 week trip to Austria for the Senior World Championships. The games drew European soccer game-like crowds & were very well received and supported. I joined Nick toward the end of his duties & was able to be there for the championship game against Team Canada.

Team USA came away the clear victors & the celebrating began.

Go USA!

While the team was preparing for their final game, I spent a couple of days galavanting around Vienna with the coaches' wives.

Belvedere Palace

(Just a small summer home)

Pucker up!

There were a bunch of these funny little sculptures in the Belvedere Palace art museum.

The grounds of Schonbrunn Palace

(This is what our backyard looks like too.)

One of my favorite places in Vienna - the Naschmarkt. It's a huge food market that is open every day & on the weekends there is a flea market as well. It's like a city-wide garage sale.

I don't recognize some of these berries & would never venture to eat them in the wild, but I'm guessing they're edible since they are for sale.

Guess what this is?

Rabbit.

How come I can never get my basil to look like that?

Our favorite pushy salesman. He ended every other sentence with "It's ok, baby!" in his Italian/German accent. We got free samples of just about everything though. My favorite were the tarimisu covered almonds - yum!

Crown jewels

Just one of the many gaudy displays in this exhibit.

St. Stephen's Cathedral - impressive, inside & out.

One of the many street performers in Vienna.

After seeing the team off at the airport, Nick & I boarded a train heading to Salzburg.

Mirabell Gardens with the Hohen Salzburg Fortress in the background.

Mirabell Gardens

Mirabell Gardens

The hydrangeas all over Austria were unreal.

Old Town Salzburg

Where Mozart was born.

Since Salzburg is Mozart's hometown, he was everywhere.

Old Town Salzburg Cathedral

Playing a game in the Hohen Fortress courtyard. I won. Nick didn't get any of those rings on the unicorn.

View from the fortress - Salzburg

Old Town Salzburg

Sound of Music Tour Bull

We didn't go on the tour, but liked the bull.

After Salzburg, we drove deeper into the Salzkammergut region (mountains & lakes) & spent some time in what became our favorite place in Austria - Hallstatt, a tiny salt mining town.

Pear tree growing against someone's house in Hallstatt

Painted skulls in a creepy little charnel in Hallstatt. Real estate was so hard to come by that they would dig you up after 10 years, remove your skull and large bones, paint you with loving symbols, & then place you here to rest.

Most people just get cremated now. Hmm... wonder why?

Lake Hallstatt

One of the best ways to see the village - by boat.

The next best way to see Hallstatt was from above as we hiked up to the entrance of the salt mine.

Getting ready for our salt mine tour. I was really grateful for these nifty outfits they gave us. The mine was freezing & the added layer did not hurt!

One of the wooden slides we went down in the salt mine when moving to lower levels. You actually go pretty fast with those outfits they put you in.

Trying to brake isn't a good idea, they said.

Nick & I raced... I won.

(Can you tell that I find the need to gloat when that happens? It's because it's so rare.)

Our last stop - St. Gilgen on Lake Wolfgang

Beautiful turquoise water that isn't done justice in the pictures.

A really cute Austrian resort town.

Some swans and the local children enjoying an evening dip in the lake in just their underwear. Finally some nudity on this blog that doesn't involve OUR children.

Nothing screams resort town more than mini golf... but their version omitted the green turf - just straight cement in St. Gilgen, Austria. (Nick won.)

Our charming hotel in St. Gilgen

On our drive back to Vienna before catching our flight home, we hit one last highlight... a rest stop. Yep, you read that right. The Austrians know how to do rest stops right. It was incredible. The whole place was one massive gourmet cafeteria. We had to take a few pictures to attempt to capture how awesome a rest stop could be, but we were asked to refrain from photography by the staff. Dumb tourists.

Here is the pasta bar. All the pasta is made fresh & then cooked to order. You could tell we weren't too far from the Italian border.

Juice bar - any kind you could imagine.

The beer choices, of course.

Salad bar

And my personal favorite... the gelato.

I also had to take a picture of the bathroom stall because I thought it was pretty funny that an ashtray came standard. Gotta love European tobacco habits.

After an incredible trip, we were ready to head back to see our girls. We owe Nana & Papa Inzerello a huge thank you for making that once-in-a-lifetime trip possible!